


unknown angel

by doeeyeboy



Series: Dark Angel [1]
Category: GOT7
Genre: M/M, Multi, and way too curious, bad ass sister Fei, jackson is too good for his own good, not sure if fluff or angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-07-24
Packaged: 2018-07-19 07:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7352101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doeeyeboy/pseuds/doeeyeboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a cold night back home, jackson finds a stranger and decides to help him. Certainly, it could have gone worst.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. the boy in the snow

**Author's Note:**

> My first Markson, I have many MANY ideas for them, but, I wanted to begin with this one.

The snowy wind hit Jackson hard as soon as he put a foot on the street. It sent chills down his spine and he regretted not wearing a thicker coat.

(In his defence, he had not planned on leaving so late; he had not even planned on staying to begin with. He had gone to the convenience store –where he part-timed at— just to get some snacks, but the guy on shift had an emergency at home and Jackson, being the nice guy he was, accepted his request to cover for him.)

The moon was hidden behind thick dark clouds and the lamp posts down the street had been broken so many times the neighbours had stopped calling for them to be changed. Only two remained intact and the light they provided was barely enough to illuminate one’s way.

He usually didn’t mind walking back home, but he didn’t appeal becoming one with the snow, so he tried asking for a pick up. Unluckily for him, his mom was out of town in a sudden business trip and his sister was the worst driver of the world so he was not taking the risk in making her drive in such weather. And since he was a cheap ass who wouldn’t take a cab ten blocks, he decided to walk back home.

Sighing to himself, Jackson let his eyes get used to the poor light and pulled the hood of his jacket over his head before he started walking down the lonely streets.

Usually there were people having their late night snacks at the few food stands nearby or people walking their pets. That night, however, the streets were empty and the food stands remained closed. The snow, he thought, had probably forced everyone to seek shelter.

The snow fell heavily and the streets were all white with it. As he took a step after another in the cold street, he regretted deciding to part-time at the convenience store, craving ramen and triangle rice wraps and not wearing a thicker coat.

Another gust of wind forced Jackson to stop in his track and hide in a dark alley, beside a trash container. It was definitely not the best place to hide, but it served right as a temporary shelter from the wind.

He had just slid down the wall, trying to hide himself between the wall and the trash container, when something caught his eyes. He blinked a few times trying to make sense of what he was seeing, but no matter what how many times he thought about it he found no reason for a pair of fairly good boots to be there, in the middle of a lonely alley.

They must belong to someone, he thought and without really thinking he moved, still crouched down, towards the boots. However, when he made it past the trash container, he caught something with the corner of his eyes that had Jackson gasping, startled, as he jerked himself in the opposite direction.

It was a body.

As if his body were in autopilot, Jackson got up from the floor and with careful steps, he approached the body until he was standing right beside it.

Out of instinct Jackson looked around frantically, searching for something, anything that could explain the body in front of him. He didn’t know what he was expecting, really. Someone to jump from the darkness, maybe? A gang? A dog? A junky?

When nothing of it happened he let his eyes fall on the body in front of him again.

It was a boy. He wore nothing but a sleeveless tee and jeans. He had no shoes on, but the boots Jackson had seen first were probably his, and he wasn’t lying directly on the floor, but on a thick winter coat. There didn’t seem to be any physical damage on his body, but his skin looked pale, white, almost melting with the snow around him.

As if he were dead.

The mere thought sent chills colder than the storm down Jackson’s spine and it took him two deep breaths to recover.

Don’t freak, he told himself, you can’t help him if you freak.

That is if he still needs help.

Bracing himself, Jackson kneeled beside the boy and tried to call him.

“Oy! yah!” Jackson called as he shook the boy, but he didn’t respond and it scared him. He shook him harder and called louder, but the guy didn’t react. It couldn’t be good.

"Please, don’t be dead" he begged silently as he softly placed two fingers on the boy’s neck, trying to feel his pulse, and left out a breath of relief he didn’t know he was holding when he felt it pushing against his fingers. It was weak and too spaced, but it was there. However, the boy was way too cold. Ice cold.

Jackson wasn’t an expert, only having heard of it on movies and TV shows, but he was kind of sure the guy was in hypothermia or in the process to fall in said state.

What to do? What to do? He wondered to himself. Well, staying there wasn’t an option. He had to move. He had to move him.

Without thinking more, Jackson lifted the boy to a sitting position and made him lean on the trash container. He took off his own jacket and put it on the guy, and then crouched in front of him to pull him on his back. Carefully, he stood up and once his found his balance he started walking.  

“What am I even doing?” he asked to no one in particular.

He accommodated the guy on his back again and weighted his options. On one hand, he knew he had to take the guy to the hospital. He could be in hypothermia and that was too dangerous, but his phone had died after he called his sister and he hadn’t seen a single cab since he left the store and there was no way he would make it there walking. On the other hand, though, his place was closer, just two blocks away; it would definitely be easier to get to his place, but was it safer?

Take him to the hospital was definitely the safer option, but he had no really other option. Besides, he could use the phone at home and call an ambulance from there.

With that in mind, Jackson accommodated the guy on his back –not that Jackson was weak, but it did help that the guy were pretty light— and started walking towards his place.

It was only two blocks or so, but the cold and the extra weight –not to mention the angled road— were making things a little bit tougher for Jackson and by the time he made it to the front door, he was all breathless and sweaty. However, it was just as his sister opened the door that Jackson realised he hadn’t considered her before taking a stranger home.

She shoot a question after another, and he tried to answer most of them but it didn't seem to suffice her thirst.

"Do you at least have an idea of who he is?" Fei asked in exasperation as she helped her brother lay the red head boy on the couch. She knew her brother had a kind heart and just was doing what he thought was the best, but having a total stranger –an unconscious one at that— in their place wasn't her cup of tea.

"I think... I think I've seen around" Jackson sounded uncertain and it did nothing to appease his sister.

"You think. That's reassuring" she said sarcastically.

"I'm not sure, OK? His face just seems familiar!" Jackson said defensively.

Back in the alley, when he was putting his jacket on the boy, Jackson took in his features with more attention.

He looked young, a teenager, around his age probably, with soft eyes, thick brows and nice nose. He had red hair, which was wet so it seemed darker; it looked nice against his pale skin, and by its black roots Jackson could tell it hadn’t been died in at least a month. He had his lips pulled into a natural pout, and though they were frostbitten, Jackson could imagine a soft healthy pink in them.

The whole image was handsome and Jackson remembered seeing that face somewhere. He hadn't been to many places since he and his family had moved to Seoul. School started in two weeks so he didn’t know his classmates; the only places he could have seen the guy were the convenience store where he part-timed at and the park where they take their dog for her daily walk.

“Ok, whatever, I’ll turn up the heater and bring some blankets” Fei said with a sigh. She would ask the questions later; for now, they needed to make sure the guy wasn’t dying “you go change and bring something for him”

Jackson didn’t need to be told twice. He did as his sister told him and quickly changed into fresh dry clothes and picked a towel, a loose tee and sweatpants for the boy before going back downstairs right away.

As he was changing the red-head, though, he couldn’t help but notice how thin he was, way too thin to be healthy, how cold his skin was and how his body shivered.

Jackson picked a pair of blankets Fei had left beside the couch before he came down and covered the guy with them, tucking them carefully on his sides. He tried to warm him by rubbing his arms up and down, but it helped little. The guy shivers increased and cold drops of sweat started forming on his forehead.

Suddenly Jackson remembered something he watched on one of many movies about the end of the world. There was a scene where one of the principal characters had to go into the icy cold water to make a call. When he was out, his crush forced him out of his soaked clothes and wrapped a coat on his shoulders before she took off her jacket and hugged him chest to chest. She explained something about cold blood and heart attack and some other shit he did not understand then, but he got the message across: heat chest to chest, good; heat on arms, bad.

Trying to replay the scene in the movie, Jackson unwrapped the blanked of the guy and then carefully pushed the guy over, making space for himself on the couch.

“Seriously, what the hell am I doing?” he mumbled under his breath as he wrapped his arms around the red-head’s back. It was uncomfortable, to say the least; not exactly due to the position, but due to the fact that the boy's skin was really, really cold. Up close, Jackson could hear his every laboured breath and clashing teeth, and could still feel his trembling body. Somehow, it encouraged him to pull him closer, and hugged him closer, their chest touching, his chin on the boy's shoulder as he rubbed his hands up the down the boy's back.

Fei came back soon after with two thermic blankets and hot water in bottles. She put the blankets over the red-head and the bottles over them, an instructed Jackson to dry the sweat from the red-head’s face and neck and to make him drink water with a wet cloth, as she went back into the kitchen to heat more water.

They kept doing that, changing the water bottles and the towels and hydrating him, again and again until the red-head finally stopped shivering and his temperature was normal again.

“Is it safe to take him to the hospital now?” Jackson asked. He was sitting on the floor beside the couch where the red-head was lying on, still using a wet cloth to give him water.

“Not yet, storm is still strong” Fei said from the arm couch she resting on. Last time she checked, snow was still falling heavily outside. It would be too risky, even the worst part of the storm had passed already. “He’ll have to wait till tomorrow morning”

“If he can make it”

“He’s not gonna die tonight.” She said dismissing his worry. “His temperature is normal again and he’s stable”

“But he’s still unconscious. That can’t be good”

Jackson had been trying to wake the red-head several times, but the boy had barely responded with pained moans at his arms being pinched.

“Well, he might have been already tired by the time he fell unconscious and we don’t know how much time had passed until you found him, so maybe he’s body is just trying to get some strength back. And he needs to rest for that. And so do I.” Fei got up from the couch and picked the las bottle with already cold water.

“You staying here, right?” she asked as she handed him the blanket and pillow she was using.

“He might get startled if he wakes and has no one to explain him how he got here, so, yeah”

“Ok, night”

After Fei had finished picking her things, she went into her room and closed the door behind. Whit her gone, it was all really quiet. The only sounds left were the soft breathing of the red head and Jackson’s own. From time to time, the sound of the brunches against the kitchen window could be heard, but otherwise it was all really quiet.

Jackson picked one of the blankets Fei had handed him and fixed himself on the love seat. He got himself comfortable and laid on his left side, he had a perfect view of the red-head. He watched the blankets going up and down rhythmically as the red-head took steady breaths through parted lips. His eyes were softly closed and he looked peaceful. His cheeks looked rosy and healthy, as if he hadn’t just been bordering hypothermia.

In the silence of the room, the questions Jackson had pushed to the back of his head started to surface once again. Who was he? Why was he there? Will he be ok? And before he realised it, he was falling on Morpheus arms.

The following morning, however, Jackson woke up to his alarm and an empty couch. The boy was gone. Just like snow, he melted into nothing, leaving no trace behind him.

Except for Jackson’s empty wallet.


	2. The letters behind the book

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There might be things Jackson regrets at times, but there are others from which he just won't back down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!! Waa I've been working on this the whole weekend and I had updated something before but it was gone so I had to write it again T_T  
> But I like the outcome.  
> sorta.  
> Anyway, hope you guys like it! Leave me comments!! :D I love feedback  
> Oh! And if you feel like it, you can talk to me on doeeyeboy on tumblr

In his 17 years of life, Jackson had rarely regretted anything he’s done. Breaking his leg for trying to skate on ice with rollerblades right before a school trip; replacing the vanilla sauce bottle with soy sauce as a prank for his sister and forgetting about it until his mother used it for his birthday cake; not knocking before entering his friend’s room and not closing his eyes fast enough before the image of him going at it with his girlfriend got imprinted behind his eyelids; and that’s pretty much it.

However, what he never thought he would ever regret was not doing his homework with anticipation. Sure, he’s done few things in a rush and he’s gotten pretty lame grades, but he’s never reproved anything, so he never gave it major importance.

This time hadn’t been different. His history teacher had assigned each of them a topic for an essay and they had two weeks to write it, but him, in truly Jackson fashion, had waited until the last day to write it. What he didn’t expect, however, was for his old computer to die on him in the middle of his search of information, leaving him no option but to rush to the school library to finish his damn essay.

One thing you ought to know about Jackson is that he liked to do things on his own. It didn’t matter how much it took him or how difficult a task was, ever since he was little he wanted to do everything on his own. So, again, in truly Jackson fashion, he wanted to find the history section on his own. However, it proved to be a hard task to achieve since the library was way bigger than he had expected. After a fruitless half hour of searching, Jackson finally gave up and asked the librarian since he also didn’t have enough time to search for it.

“It’s on the second floor” the librarian said “section H, the last corridor, left shelf, around the middle.”

“Thank you” Jackson said as he was about to make his way, but was stopped by the librarian’s voice speaking once again.

“But be careful. The lights on the stairs are not working.” She said “Also, there are no study tables upstairs so you’ll have to get back down to use it” she added before finally returning to her own notes.

Now, another thing you ought to know about Jackson is that he was a scaredy cat. Yep, you heard it. He was –and wasn’t ashamed to admit— a scaredy cat. He hated ghost stories, scary movies –though zombies and gore were fine—, haunted houses and anything jumping out of dark places. He loathed it.

No lights on the stairs meant darkness, and no study tables meant no high lights and no lamps, which also meant that the second floor would be darker than the first floor and that was not appealing at all since the first floor was already dark without the lamps.

Shaking his head, Jackson tried stop his mind from picturing how dark the second floor of the library was, and instead tried to concentrate himself on practical thoughts.

“Find the history section, pick a book, and get back down”

He repeated the words again and again in his head, like a mantra; but as he finally made it to the second floor, he couldn’t help but let his thoughts stray.

The lights on the second floor were dim and the only window, although quite wide and visible from the first corridor, was at the end of the last corridor (number eight) and provided close to no light since outside was already getting dark. To make it worst, the air was colder than the first floor and there were no work tables, as the librarian had said, which also meant that no one stayed there more than few minutes. And thinking about it, no one had gone up in the time he had been looking for history section. It was as if they feared it, as if it were…haunted.

He slapped himself with both hands.

“Bullshit” he told himself, gulping down and braving himself to keep on walking.

As he got closer to last corridor, the air colder and it smelled different –almost like incense. Unconsciously, his steps slowed down and he couldn’t help the chill that went down his back.

When he finally reached the last corridor, Jackson noticed the air-conditioner that was blasting at its maximum potential and he released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

“Why am I even getting scared?” he scolded himself, fake laughing at his own silliness, shaking his head and walking to the book shelfs.  

As he stared at the History book shelf, filled from top to bottom with books, Jackson realised it should have also been a good idea to ask the librarian for help. But he was already there, so he decided to do the search himself. He picked random books and, using the light of his phone, checked the Index, looking for anything that could help him, and put them back on its place when they didn’t.

He was about to return the sixth book to its place, when a noise behind him startled him, making him drop the phone and the book in his hand. Quickly he dropped to the floor in search of his phone and when he got it, he pointed the light around, expecting anything to jump at him, but there was only a book out of place which pages flapped around every time the air from the air-conditioner reached it.

“Ah, really” he breathed in an out, feeling his heart beating hard against his rib-cage.

He was checking the nth book, when he noticed a biology book on the shelf.

Definitely out of place, he thought; but as he was about to reach for it, wondering why it was there, several books fell from the shelf behind him. Jackson jumped around and pointed the light to the shelf behind and met a pair of surprised eyes. Scared shitless, he backed away as much as he could, crashing himself on the history book shelf and making more books fall over him.

Jackson didn’t realize he had slid down and closed his eyes as his arms covered his head until the librarian walked in and turned the lights on. (Apparently there were two kinds of lights on the second floor, yellow that were always on and were dim since not many people were there, and bright white that could be turned on from a switch that was only on the last corridor –to which not many got because they got scared.)

“How could you be so careless?!” She scolded him “These books are here thanks to the effort of the people who want to give you the best! You should take care of them as if they were your own!”

Jackson thought about explaining it hadn’t been his doing, that they just fell on his own, but after saying it once in his head he realized how stupid he actually sounded since there had been no one else besides him. So, instead he quietly listened and kept his head low.

The librarian kept scolding Jackson as he put each book in its right place, and only left when he had half the job done.

By the time she had left, Jackson had calmed down already. His heart didn’t beat like crazy anymore and his mind was clearer. He could finally think and he felt stupid for fearing the place could be haunted or something. However, he couldn’t help but wonder who had been there and why they had pushed all the books. For a minute he thought it could be one of his classmates wanting to scare him, but the eyes he had seen didn’t belong to any of them, although they were somewhat familiar.

He was about to leave, after putting the last book on the shelf, when he picked one that looked different from the other books. It was smaller, of leather cover and with no name or identification card inside like every other book. There was no doubt it didn’t belong to the Politics section nor to the whole library, since it was a copy of The Little Prince and it was in English, but Jackson couldn’t help but wonder what it was doing there.

Upon further inspection, Jackson found the initials M and T on the left inferior corner of the first page, and he started thinking on every classmate of his whose English initials were M and T –there weren’t many.

“What is taking you so long?” the librarian suddenly spoke beside him, almost giving him a heart attack.

“Please, don’t do that” he begged, hand over his chest trying to calm his fast beating heart.

“Well, speed up, we’re about to close.” Only then Jackson realized it was already dark outside.

“Sorry” he said and quickly out the last books in the shelf, not caring if they were in their right place.

He picked a random book from the history shelf and hid the other book he found under it, before the librarian noticed. He feared that she would make him drop it at “missing things” and he needed it to find who had been there. Not because he was seeking revenge, but because he was curious of their motives.

A week or so passed after the incident at the library and, honestly speaking, Jackson had forgotten about the book in his desk until their graded essays were returned –he got a B, mind you.

When he got home, he picked the book and wondered if its owner was looking for it. What if the one who pushed the books wasn’t the owner? What if someone had truly gone to the missing things section in hope of finding? Thinking about it made Jackson feel guilty. But then again, what if it truly belonged to whoever had pushed the books behind Jackson?

He thought about it over the night and by the time morning arrived, he came up with an idea.

Since whoever had lost the book had obviously done it at the library, Jackson decided to leave a post about it in the library’s notice board.

 _“Little prince found. Get it where you lost it after class”_ it read. He preferred not to say who he was and neither where exactly he would wait because he was more than sure that few girls would use that chance to confess to him –wouldn’t be the first time, really— and he was having none of that.

He had really hopped it would work, but whoever it was had beat him to it and left a note. “Thanks, please leave it where you found it”.

Usually, Jackson wouldn’t have minded and just done as he was told, but more than ever he suspected that whoever had dropped the book was the same person that had pushed the books and he wanted an explanation for that. So no, he wrote a big fat NO in the note he found and instead, asked the person to be there again the following day.

The following day, Jackson’s last class was PE so he skipped it and went to the library and hid to wait for the book’s owner.

Half an hour passed after classes were over, but the guy –he was sure it was a guy— hadn’t showed up yet. Jackson was about to leave when suddenly his mouth was covered by a hand and someone dragged him two rows back from where he was hiding until the window.

“Keep quiet” a hushed voice said, guiding him to crouch down while crouching down in front of him.

In slight shock, Jackson observed the pair of brown eyes almost hidden under darker bangs that begged him to listen. A pair of very pretty dark brown eyes. A pair of eyes he had seen before.

Sensing his lack of resistance, the guy removed his hand from Jackson’s mouth, moving to open the window and giving Jackson the chance to see his face completely: dark brown hair, light skin, rosy lips that complimented his pretty eyes.

Suddenly, steps of people coming up the stairs could be heard and they both turned to each other. Before Jackson could ask anything, the other boy was hurrying him to go through the window.

For a second there, Jackson had seriously thought of refusing and demanding an explanation, but he saw fear on the other’s eyes and although he really wanted and needed to know why, he decided it could wait.

Voices getting near could be heard, and without wasting more time Jackson sneaked under the window as fast as he could without making a sound and right after, the dark haired boy came through it, too.

Once outside, Jackson didn’t have time to sneak a peek inside the library who see who they were hiding from since he was pulled by the wrist and dragged away from the window. He could barely register they were on the roof of what he guessed was the laboratory.

As they reached the end of the roof, Jackson wondered how they were going to get down since it was pretty high, when the dark haired boy stopped and showed him a light post.

“I’m not jumping!” he stated, knowing well enough what he was meant to do without the other telling him so.

The library was on the second floor of the administration building and they had just escaped through the window of the second floor of the library, which meant they were currently on a third floor. And that was way too high for Jackson’s liking.

“They’re not gonna stay there forever.” His dark haired companion hissed “They’re going to come out sooner than later, and believe me, you don’t want them to find you.”

“Well, excuse me if I don’t know but you never explained. I mean, who are we ever running from?” Jackson asked exasperated.

He was getting irritated already. Sure, he had just been following the guy because he had too many things he needed to know, like where he hid in the library without Jackson noticing, why he hid from Jackson if he wanted his book back, why he pushed the books at Jackson, and why he was lying on the floor on a stormy night.

Because at that point Jackson could already tell that the dark haired boy of pretty eyes and rosy lips in front of him was the same skinny red headed boy of pale skin and chapped lips he had helped –and who had mugged him— few weeks before the start of the semester.

“People you don’t want to be around. Now, please”

Jackson really, really didn’t want to do it, but he had a hunch that he needed to. He had learned long ago to follow his hunches, and so he did it once more.

Shaking his head, he sighed out and braced himself. He followed the other boy’s commands and moved as instructed _(“Tighten your arms first and then your legs. Then you can let yourself slide down by loosening your hold enough to slide down but not to drop down.)_ , and although he landed on his ass, he made it down in one piece. The other boy followed right behind and once down he dragged Jackson to what he recognized as the back door of the canteen. It was safe zone.

“Wait!” Jackson stopped the other by the arm just as he was about to leave to who-knows-where. “You own me an explanation” he stated, and the other scoffed.

“I owe you nothing” he tried shaking his arms free, but Jackson only tightened his grip.

“Yes, you do. And I don’t mean this shit just now.”

Jackson had suspected it, but he wasn’t entirely sure. Now, with the other confusedly blinking at him, he was sure the dark haired boy didn’t know it was him who had saved him from dying in the street.

“About a month ago,” he started “the night of the storm, I found you passed out on an alley. I took you home and took care of you, but you left before I woke up”

As he spoke, the dark hared boy’s eyes slowly got wider in recognition. Taking advantage of the surprise factor, Jackson pulled from his arm until he could take a grip of the neck of his jacket.

“I think you owe me a lot for saving your ass”

Before Jackson could react, the other managed to free himself from Jackson's grip and push him hard enough that he stumbled until landing on his butt.

"No one asked you to!!" the dark haired boy half shouted.

His breath was elaborated, his eyes looking at anything but Jackson, as if he was about to get a panic attack or about to get violent. Jackson feared for a moment it was the first since he was sure he could handle a violent reaction but wouldn't know what to do with a panicking guy. So, when the boy lifted his gaze, Jackson wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it definitely didn't was the fearful eyes that met his. 

"It's not your business. Stay away." the boy said, voice slightly trembling yet serious at the same time, before turning away and leaving a perplexed Jackson behind. 

By the time Jackson finally reacted, the dark haired boy was long gone, Jackson's questions still unanswered. 

As he gathered his things from his locker, Jackson noticed once again the leather covered book. He had purposely left it behind, so he had an excuse to establish a conversation with the book's owner. He had never expected the events that happened.

"Stay away" he repeated the dark haired boy's words as he stared at the two letter on the book's first page. M.T.

On his many years of experience of being in different schools around the globe, Jackson had learned that it was best to mind his own business. However, he had never really been good at it. 

Why was he running? from who was he running? What was he hiding? Why was he on that street that night? The questions filled Jackson's head.

Not his business?

The dark haired boy might have not realized it, but the moment he dragged him out of the library -no, the moment he found him on that alley- it became his business.

And there was just no way he was staying away. 

For him, it had just begun.  


	3. The name behind the letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jackson finally finds what he wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Waaaaa.... this was... exciting? kinda. I struggled a bit with this chapter because I always have a hard time with the beginnings and the endings. ALWAYS! That's why, if it's a bit awkward or sudden, please excuse me u.u  
> the only thing I don't like about it is how short it is :  
> Drop a comment here or at tumblr doeeyeboy!

 

When Jackson and his sister were little, their father used to play detective with them. Whenever he lost or couldn’t find something –his wallet, hi keys, his police badge— he would send them on a mission of finding it. Both of them would be in detective mode and ask questions, pick up traces and cross information, until finally finding the missing item. It was so easy.

It hadn’t taken that much time for Jackson to realize that his father’s missions for them were pretty simple, a children’s game. However, he hadn’t expected for an actual investigation to be so hard.

For days after the whatever happened in the library, Jackson had been trying to come up with an idea to find about the pretty eyed boy, but he hadn’t been able to come up with something useful. It’s not that he hadn’t come up with ideas, but everything he came up with was just useless. He didn’t have a name, a year, not even a characteristic description that would help him ask his friends. All he had were two letters.

He thought about using the library’s register of borrowed books to look up for students whose last name begun with M and first name with T; however, the librarian told him that it was digital and that the students didn’t have access to it.

So yeah, it had been hard.

He was about to give up and back off, as the pretty boy had asked him to, when he finally found a way to know the boy’s name.

He was supposed to upload his literature homework on the virtual campus of the school, but since Jackson hadn’t really used it before, he didn’t know where exactly he was supposed to upload it. He was scrolling down the main page, reading every link and opening some and looking through the redirected page when he found a link to a chat room. Being the curious guy he was, Jackson clicked on the link and it indeed redirected him to a chat room: a chat room of the school. The interesting thing about it was that there was a list of all the students, connected or not, of every year, of every class, and he could access to their profile.  

It was as if a light bulb turned on in his head. Suddenly, he knew what to do.

After a little more of struggle, he was finally able to upload his homework successfully and without wasting more time, he started downloading the whole list of students. However, as he did it, he realized two things that could difficult his search: it was all in hangul.

Now, is not that Jackson didn’t speak Korean. Even though it was an international school and they had the advantage that their teachers spoke English, their whole classes were still in Korean so of course he had learned the language. However, he was still a bit slow while reading and writing in Korean.

At least he knew the basic so it helped him put all the names in an excel document and add the filters for last names with “ㅁ” (M) which got him a list of more than three hundred names. He then selected those whose first name begun with “ㅌ” (T) and the list got reduced to a quarter of the original.

Another thing he realized after he finally got the final list was that he could only access to their full profile —class, contact number, email, address and, the most important for Jackson, picture— from the computers in the school.

The following days had Jackson spending his every lunch break going to the computer lab, checking on every profile on the list and crossing out one after another when it wasn’t the one he was looking for. However, after crossing out almost all the list, he hadn’t gotten any luck and he was starting to get frustrated.

“What’s up with you these days?” Jinyoung, Jackson’s classmate and the reason why he wasn’t an outcast, askes as he collected his books and pens. The last period of class was over and they were getting ready to go home. “Are you meeting with a girl or something?”

The whole week Jackson had been restless, going who knows where at lunch and coming back deflated just right after the break was over. At first he thought the Chinese boy had found himself new people to hang out with, but he discharged those thoughts as soon as Jackson hanged of his neck while they walked back home.

 “Uh… what… No, no, just… some information I can’t seem to find?” he said, hoping that Jinyoung would buy it.

Jinyoung raised an eyebrow and looked at Jackson as if he had said the stupidest thing ever –and he probably had— before rolling his eyes. He picked his bag and started making his way to the door. Jackson could do nothing but follow him.

As they walked down the corridor, Jinyoung talked about something that had happened in his theatre club the day before.

And Jackson couldn’t help but feel guilty.

There he was, Jinyoung, the guy that had welcomed him since the beginning, the guy who had introduced Jackson to his friends, to his new circle; the guy that trusted Jackson enough to tell him about his crush on this girl from the theatre club.

And there he was, Jackson, the guy who couldn’t tell his friend what had happened weeks ago because he just didn’t feel like admitting he was low-key stalking someone.

How do you expect him to not feel guilty?

So yeah, he decided to tell Jinyoung the truth. Besides, it would probably make it easier for him to find who the pretty boy was.

“Jinyoung hyung! Jackson hyung!”

The call of their names in a very known voice made both boys stop in their track and turn around, only to be held captive as their younger friend threw himself over them.

“You, brat! You’re gonna make us break a bone one of these days” Jinyoung said, as he dramatically rubbed his neck after Youngjae finally pulled away.

Youngjae was Jinyoung’s neighbour and childhood friend. He also had welcomed Jackson since the beginning and treated him as his older brother too. True to be told, the younger liked to be pampered, but his sunshine smile made it hard for Jackson to be bothered by it.

“Hyung! Hyung! Yuto let me borrow his collection of Death Note! All the tomes!” the younger said excitedly, not bothered at all by Jinyoung’s murderous look. He opened his backpack right there and took out a book from it –Jackson could see a least ten other similar books inside and he wondered if it wasn’t a tad heavy.

The three friends fell in pace as they kept on walking back home, Youngjae trying to read the manga and whining about not understanding, and Jinyoung still telling him about the incident in the theatre.

Suddenly, behind them the younger let out a surprised gasp that got both Jinyoung and Jackson curious.

Both raised their eyebrow at the younger and he explained that he had been reading it from left to right, when he should have done it from right to left.

“I’ve been reading it wrong all along” he laughed at his own dumb mistake.

Jinyoung turned towards the front again as if he had never heard the younger, to which Youngjae whined again.

Jackson on the other hand, had his mind flying towards the two letters in the book and the list of crossed out names in his backpack.

He had an epiphany.

“Sorry, guys. I forgot something!” Jackson didn’t wait for his friends to respond and started running back to school.

All this time he had been looking for someone whose last name begun with M and first name with T. He hadn’t thought of the possibility of it being the other way. Why would he, anyway? He was in Korean and the family names were written first. It had been logical. But then again, he hadn’t taken all the details in consideration. One, the book was in English. Two, there were two letters, not three as most Korean names. And three, it could be a foreign student –it was an international school, after all.

As soon as he reached a computer, Jackson logged in and opened the file he had downloaded. It was still on the M last name and T first name. He erased the filters and used a different one, selecting only those whose last name begun with T. By doing so, the list got dramatically shortened, and when he selected those whose names begun with M, it got reduced to ten; one of which had four letters.  

투안마크.

“Tu-an Ma-keu?” he read.

What kind of name was that? Definitely not a Korean one, he thought, just as the book.

With excitement running through his veins, Jackson opened the server and went straight to the chat room, getting a bit desperate as it took longer than usual to load. When it finally did and he scrolled down the page until he found the name, he stopped for a second to close his eyes and take a deep breath before clicking on the name.

Very slowly, and with his heart about to break out of his ribcage, Jackson opened his eyes, one at the time, and finally stared at the profile picture of Mark Tuan –as he repeated it in his hear, while looking for it, he realized that was probably the correct translation.

Dark hair, tick eyebrows, white skin, plump rosy lips and those deep brown eyes that Jackson had imprinted behind his eyelids. 

It was him.

The maniac laugh that shook his whole body was uncontrollable. Some students in the lab complained and he calmed down a bit, but the joy he felt at that moment, the huge grin that spread on his face, it all remained.

He had finally found the pretty boy’s identity, the owner of the little prince, MT. Mark Tuan. Second year, just like him, and from the class beside his.

“Mark Tuan” he repeated, liking how the name rolled in his tongue. It made him feel powerful. He smirked as he looked at the picture in the computer. “Let’s see what you hide”

Now, he thought, now he had the upper hand.

Now, the real game begun.

* * *

 

Note 1: I actually did a research about my friends using the chat room on the virtual campus of my university, where our classes and official information are uploaded. And yes, I had access to their primary information such as their name, their year, the classes they took, and their phone numbers and emails if available. The only thing I didn’t have access was their schedules. I couldn’t download the information, thought, and I also only had access to it while online and from the computers of the computer laboratory. So, that's where I got the idea from. 

And, in case I hadn't mentioned it before, I'm multifandom and I have a tumblr ([doeeyeboy ](doeeyeboy.tumblr.com)) where you can drop by if you feel like it :3


	4. The boy behind the name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Rumour says you’re a bad boy” Jackson didn’t let it discourage him and instead walked beside him, hands behind his back.   
> “So? Hasn’t mommy told you to stay away from boys like me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ashdgahsgdfahgshasgd  
> Whaaaaat I've doooooooone  
> annyong chingudul~~  
> Hope you like my latest update.  
> My vacations are coming to an end Dx  
> I don't want them to!!! These are my last vacations until 2018 (no, I did not misspell)!!!! Dx  
> Hope you like it, drop a comment~~ leave kudos~~ :D

Ever since his mother had gotten her job at this large technology company, both Jackson and his sister had gotten the latest phones and computers and so many kind of devices that no other kid around their ages had –his late computer was one of those, but it had the bad luck to have a klutz like Jackson as its owner, one who dropped it many more times than it resisted and which ultimately led to its sorrowful fate. It had led to both of them always comparing devices and complaining about its inability to function as they wanted them to.

Take the computers at school as an example.

Those useless pieces of…

They were useless. And they didn’t help Jackson when he most needed them –never mind they were useful enough just the week before.

Jackson’s high from finding out the pretty boy’s name ( _Mark Tuan, MARK TUAN, you, useless brain_ ) was short lived since besides his class and year, there was nothing else he could find. The information in the virtual campus was outdated; the phone number was unavailable and the address provided apparently didn’t exist –or that’s what google maps said. He tried looking for him on social media, but of course those had been blocked —he found later, using his phone, that Mark had none, but still, the computers at school were all useless.

Oh, and don’t let him start on the systems. How could the information of the students be outdated??!! What if there was an emergency and they needed to contact Mark’s parents?

What bothered him more was that he had to wait until Monday to draw on his finally available source: his classmates. Well, Mark’s classmates.

“Not really, but I don’t think anyone really does.” A girl from Mark’s class told him when he asked her if she knew Mark. She was his lab partner and the only person Jackson felt comfortable to ask. She had looked at him surprised at the random question in the middle of their lab experiment, but answered nonetheless. “He’s somewhat of a loner; always on his own, no friends, not that I know, and if anyone tries to talk to him, he either shuts them with a glare or leaves them talking to themselves.”

“Doesn’t belong to any club, doesn’t participate in class activities or group projects. One would believe he doesn’t care about school, but he does come earlier than anyone, —he probably opens the school— and although he sleeps or looks out of the window through every class, his grades are always top five.”

“Is that all?”

“Yeah, why? Were you expecting something else?”

Honestly speaking, Jackson wasn’t sure what he was exactly expecting. What his lab partner had told him was a lot more than he could have found anywhere and he might be able to find it some use, but it still wasn’t quite what he wanted.

“Sorry to disappoint you but I doubt there’s anyone on this school that could give you more than that. Maybe Jinyoung could.”

“Jinyoung?” the mention of his friend’s name caught Jackson by surprise that he almost dropped the test tube

“Yes, he’s in your class right?” Jackson nodded “They were transferred from the same school last year. Jinyoung first and then Mark, like a month later. I’ve never seen them together, though, so, it’s hard to tell.”

That, Jackson hadn’t been expecting that at all.  

Prior to it all and after a huge inner debate, Jackson had already decided to ask his friends for help so it would be easier to get information about Mark and who he was hiding from. However, after finding out that Mark and Jinyoung had been on the same school, he couldn’t help but feel assured.

Jinyoung was the answer to his quest.   

Or so he thought.

It was Saturday and Jinyoung had invited him and Youngjae to play videogames at his place. Jackson had already decided to ask his friend, but he was still waiting for the right moment to do it –he thought it was rude to ask as soon as he arrived. However, he wasn’t sure when it would be. After two hours of playing and many snacks been eaten, Jackson decided it was now or never, so he dropped the bomb.

“Do any of you know Mark Tuan?”

Jaebum, a friend of Jinyoung’s from another school –his previous one, Jackson guessed, but didn’t question— and Youngjae, whom were playing Street Fighter, stopped in the middle of it to turn their heads towards him. Jinyoung, who had been eating popcorn, stopped with his hand midway.

“Do you?” Did the room just turn cold or it was all Jackson’s imagination?

Like he’d said before, Jackson didn’t like lying to his friends. It made him feel a bit rotten inside and he didn’t like the feeling of mistrust at all.

“Not really” he replied after a beat of silence. He could feel starting to creep around. “I mean; I’ve just met him by coincidence. Twice.” He hid a bit of the truth, but he wasn’t lying per se. However, the blank stares his friend’s gave him told him that wasn’t reason enough to be asking about the boy. So he added the first thing that popped in his head “And well, he’s kind of cute”

Well, he said it. And he couldn’t believe he said it. Jackson wasn’t afraid they would judge him from liking another boy. Jinyoung was pretty much open minded, so Jackson was confident he wouldn’t mind, and if Jaebum’s and Youngjae’s glances and not so subtle touches were anything to go by, they wouldn’t either. However, it was something Jackson himself had been denying to admit. He refused to believe his interest in Mark was because he was attracted to him.

“There’s better people to crush on, Jacks” Jaebum broke the silence that Jackson hadn’t realized had started to surround them.

“Why?” he asked, his tone full curiosity.

“Because he’s no good!”

If Jackson hadn’t heard the alarm bells ringing loud in the silence around him, then he definitely did now. Jinyoung was looking straight ahead, his hands around the bowl of popcorn slightly shaking from how hard he was holding it.

No one said a word. Silence fell in the living room, no one daring to say a word and even the noise from the video game was enough to make it less awkward.

“He hangs out with the wrong people, Jacks. It’s better if you just stay away from him.” Jaebum said and Jackson couldn’t help but feel thankful for his words, even if he wasn’t convinced entirely. He wanted to know why because it all made no sense to him.

Jinyoung got up from the couch, mumbling something about more popcorn and left for the kitchen, and silence fell again heavier than before.

It was Youngjae who broke the silence this time with his victory dance. He had resumed to playing again without them noticing and had finally beat Jaebum after losing in every single game they played. Jaebum pretended to have known the whole time that the younger had continued playing while he was distracted and only laughed and smiled fondly as the younger celebrated finally beating him.

By the time Jinyoung came back, the playful mood had been restored and they all acted as if their previous conversation had never happened.

And Jackson never mentioned Mark’s name after that, even though it still haunted his mind. He couldn’t help it, really, especially not when he started noticing little things he hadn’t noticed before. Like Mark’s usual table at the canteen being just three tables away from theirs, and Jackson had a good view of the back of his hood –because he always had it on. Like how he liked to space out of the window and Jackson had a perfect view of him during PE. Like, how Mark also walked to the bus stop but was always at least twenty feet behind them.

At first Jackson thought it was all coincidence, that Mark had the right to sit wherever he wanted, that he just liked to space during classes, that he took a different bus and none of it had nothing to do with Jackson. But then he also noticed that Mark had a mirror application on when he looked at his phone during lunch, that he didn’t space out but watched Jackson’s PE class, and that he didn’t take any bus home.

This last one Jackson figured a day his basketball practice got cancelled last minute, just as he had finished changing into his training clothes. He hurried picking his belongings up and didn’t waste time changing back, before sprinting out. He never liked being alone in the bus and he figured he could catch up with Jinyoung and Youngjae if he was fast enough. However, by the time he arrived at the bus stop it was already empty. The bus that he, Jinyoung and Youngjae took had left ten minutes ago. He had sighed resigned and decided to wait for the next bus, when he noticed Mark walking away on the opposite direction the bus had left. And Jackson couldn’t help but wonder why.

It was another question for Jackson’s already long Ask-Mark-later list.

Mark was a mystery to Jackson. Jinyoung and Jaebum said that he was no good and that he hung out with the wrong people, but honestly speaking, Jackson hadn’t seen the boy not even with a bully. He was a loner, an outcast by decision, apparently, even when any other boy as handsome as him could be rather popular. He didn’t seem to care about people or classes, but then he kept his grades on top and had cared enough to prevent Jackson from meeting whoever they were hiding from that time at the library.

How was he dangerous? Jackson couldn’t see.

And that’s why he also couldn’t stop himself.

“Mark!” He called making said boy stop in track and turn enough to see him “Hi”

Jackson knew he had said he would forget about Mark, that he wouldn’t try to learn anything about him and that he would stay away from him. But he had him there, in front of him after almost a month. And wow, he was still very handsome and his eyes the most expressive Jackson had ever seen –really, who needs words when they had eyes like Mark’s— changing from surprise to annoyance when he realized who was calling from him.

“How did you know my name?” Mark said sounding annoyed yet scared at the same time. 

“I have my ways”

Mark blinked twice at him before he turned away from Jackson and continued on walking mumbling a ‘whatever’ under his breath. Jackson didn’t let him get far though, as he speeded up and stopped he was in front of him, turning so they would be face to face and forcing the other boy to stop.   

“I still have questions for you, remember?”

Mark tried to walk around Jackson and he, noticing right away his intentions, quickly blocked his way whenever the pretty boy tried.

“What makes you think I’ll answer them?”

“I have a feeling”

“You’re delusional” he scoffed and smirked as he managed to distract Jackson and walk past him.

“Rumour says you’re a bad boy” Jackson didn’t let it discourage him and instead walked beside him, hands behind his back.                                   

“So? Hasn’t mommy told you to stay away from boys like me?” Jackson liked how Mark tried to sound mean and badass, but the slight pout on his lips didn’t help to the cause.

“yes, but you’re not a bad boy. You are too pretty to be one.” He said with a wink. Flirt was his language.

“I took money from you!” Mark said indignantly, this time looking at Jackson.

“You could say I was threatening you for dinner”

“You don’t threat strangers to diner”

“Oh, but you’re not a stranger” Mark raised an eyebrow at that and Jackson couldn’t help but to smile at the curiosity kitten look on his face “I’ve saved your life, remember?”

Suddenly Mark stopped and few seconds later Jackson realized they had reached the bus stop prior to the one by their school. A bus stopped by just then. Some people got off. Some got on. The bus left and they were once again alone.

“Why didn’t you leave on that bus?” Mark asked.

“I’m having a conversation with you” Jackson honestly answered.

“Why?”

“I just want to”

There was no winning with him, Mark realized. Jackson knew it the moment he sighed tiredly and gave him a pleading look.

“Just go home, Jackson”

The tiredness in is voice suddenly made Jackson feel bad. And he was about to apologies for imposing his presence for so long when he realized he had never told Mark his name.

Mark must have realized his slip of tongue because he quickly interrupted Jackson before he was able to mutter a word.

“W-what? You’re the only new transfer this year, and on the first day it was announced that an ‘Olympic star’ would be joining our school”

“So, I have to assume that either you like fencing and watched the game last year, or you were interested in me as soon as you heard my name, because I wasn’t even present at the entrance ceremony so there’s no way you would know it was me” 

Jackson observed with sick fascination how Mark opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of the water while failing to come up with an excuse good enough to shut him, blood rushing to his cheeks making him look endearing and Jackson couldn’t help but to smile at the cuteness.

Noticing the other was enjoying his suffering, Mark closed his mouth in a –in Jackson’s opinion— rather cute frown before punching Jackson’s arm hard enough to make him squirm in pain.  

“Don’t flatter yourself” 

he said, hands crossed over his chest as he sat on the bench.

He was just so cute that Jackson couldn’t help laughing at his pouty face.  

“Now, seriously, go home” he repeated through teeth, but it was far from threatening to Jackson.

“Why, no, I like how this is going”

“Don’t you have basket practice or something?”

“Ho, so you do stalk me”

“I don—

“You totally do!! OMG! Do you like me? I don’t blame you, I’m hot as hell”

“You’re insufferable”

“I’ve heard so”

“Leave me alone!” Mark whined as he jumped both of his legs, still while sitting.

“Don’t wanna” and Jackson couldn’t help but to smile.

“This is harassing; you know?”

Jackson only shrugged his shoulders, smirk still in place and his eyes shining with joy.

“Seriously, what do you want?”

“Answers” he said half playful, half serious.

“You won’t get them from me”

They were running in circles, Jackson knew, so he decided to play his only card. One that he had been hiding since the morning he woke up to the empty couch and had to get rid of the evidence that a stranger had been at their place before his mom got back. One that he hadn’t known the meaning nor real utility until he found Mark’s profile on the school’s online campus.

“Should I try to get them from here, then?” he said as threw a piece of paper to Mark, who ably caught it.

It was the same piece of paper Jackson found in Mark’s pants as he looked for an ID. He hadn’t given it importance since it wasn’t what he had been looking for, but after finding absolutely nothing helpful, he went back to it. It was a number and he tried calling it, but the person who answered wasn’t aware of the boy Jackson had found on the snow.    

Mark must have known what it was, but he probably wasn’t sure how much Jackson knew.

“I’m going there tomorrow”

Jackson had given up on the number long before meeting Mark again and he left it in the drawer of his desk until he found out Mark’s name and his outdated information. After watching at the online information for so much time, Jackson realized that Mark’s ID number seemed familiar and when he checked with the piece of paper he had fond, it was the same. He also realized that the phone number wasn’t even a phone number and the address although fake was also a number.

They were coordinates.

And Mark seemed to know where they would take him.

“No!” he shouted, standing up, his breath elaborated, fear visible in his eyes.

“Then tell me why” Jackson demanded in slight desperation.

Mark had left his school ID number for a reason and he had made a riddle out of his information for a reason. He wanted them to be found, but he didn’t want to be obvious and he definitely didn’t want it to be Jackson who found it. So why?

“You don’t understand” he dropped his gaze to the floor, unable to keep eye contact with Jackson.

“You’re right, I don’t. But I want to”

Mark continued looking at the floor, shaking his head and slightly trembling, and Jackson feared his plan had backfired, that Mark would close up even more.

“If you don’t tell me, I’m going there.”

Mark stopped shaking his head and took a deep breath before finally lifting his head and meeting Jackson’s eyes. What he said next, however, wasn’t what Jackson had been expecting.

“Do whatever you want”

And before Jackson could react, Mark jumped in the first cab that stopped in front of them and left.

“Fine”

Mark must have thought Jackson was kidding, that he wouldn’t dare go to the place the coordinates indicated.

Well, he absolutely didn’t know Jackson.

 


End file.
